Sand

[Powder Lover]

I have had my tank for about a year and 1/2 and I do not like the choice of substrate I used some fine sand and some real course stuff> I would like to have all fine stuff and more than I have now. Is it safe to try and change this? I also need more live rock, if I add more will my creatures suffer?

[Infern0]

Depending on how deep it currently is, as soon as you scoop it to remove it you will have a huge spike in your water params.

Since you want to add more anyway, how plausible is it to just add the kind you want over the surface of what you have? You should be around 4" - 7" to accomplish the functionality of a Deep Sand Bed (DSB) anyway. This way you could even get away with not buying all live sand and just letting your current bed seed the new stuff...will also be much cheaper in the long run. Sifting/Mixing of your old and new will occur naturally over time.

All depends on your preferences and like I said, the current depth of the sand you have. What livestock do you have in the tank currently?

How much rock do you currently have and what are you trying to expand to? More rock is usually never a bad thing unless you are already at the limit, and even the, the biggest problem I can forsee you having is reduced flow to certain areas of the tank.

[Powder Lover]

Thanks for replying. I only have about a 2" sandbed so I like your idea. I have a 50 gal tank and only 20lbs of live rock, I really need more. I am just afraid it will cause some unstability in th tank. I have hammer head corals, mushrooms, xenia, a clam, seabae anemone, 2 clowns, 4 green chromis, 1 royal gamma, ahippo tang an several snails and hermits.

When I do water changes I stir up the sand is this wrong????

[Infern0]

I guess it depends....skimming the surface isn't always a bad thing, which I personally don't even do myself. I let the water flow and my cleanup crew handle that job. I don't even dust my rock off which other people are very favorable to...all preference. If you're digging down and stirring (unsettling layers), I would reccomend against it.

Adding sand to the surface in this case would not be a bad thing, you don't even have to replace the current rock you have. Get it to the desired level with the preffered type and all will be good. Add your rock in slow batches when you do. Unpleasant water spikes can occur by adding too much at once. This method will even make it easier on the checkbook.

Good luck!

[Powder Lover]

Thank you, I will stop digginin the sand to clean it and add some more... then slowly add more live rock

[Infern0]

Good deal man...Best of luck!